Start Date

6-1-2011 2:30 PM

End Date

6-1-2011 3:45 PM

Track

1. Track 1 – Formal Paper Presentation

Subject Area

Travel and Tourism

Faculty Member

William Norman wnorman@clemson.edu

Abstract

This study explored the relationship between second-generation immigrants’ attachment to their ancestral homeland and their journey back “home,” focusing on whether or not the second generation could feel at “home” in their parents’ country of origin and how their travel experience influenced their feeling of attachment to their homeland after the trip. Using a mixed methods approach, this study employed secondary data analysis from three different sources, including both qualitative and quantitative data. Findings revealed that there was an association between the number of trips and feeling at “home” in their parents’ country of origin. Second-generation immigrants who considered both America and their ancestral homeland as “home” took the highest number of homecoming trips, and their transnational attachment to two countries reflects the dual loyalty and identity of people in diaspora. Findings also showed that the homeland trips created a complex experience of alienation and a sense of belonging simultaneously.

Keywords

homecoming, diaspora, transnationalism, heritage tourism

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Jan 6th, 2:30 PM Jan 6th, 3:45 PM

The Journey “Home”: An Exploratory Analysis of Second-generation Immigrants’ Homeland Travel

This study explored the relationship between second-generation immigrants’ attachment to their ancestral homeland and their journey back “home,” focusing on whether or not the second generation could feel at “home” in their parents’ country of origin and how their travel experience influenced their feeling of attachment to their homeland after the trip. Using a mixed methods approach, this study employed secondary data analysis from three different sources, including both qualitative and quantitative data. Findings revealed that there was an association between the number of trips and feeling at “home” in their parents’ country of origin. Second-generation immigrants who considered both America and their ancestral homeland as “home” took the highest number of homecoming trips, and their transnational attachment to two countries reflects the dual loyalty and identity of people in diaspora. Findings also showed that the homeland trips created a complex experience of alienation and a sense of belonging simultaneously.